Alliance with BJP only for polls, not for coalition govt: Edappadi K Palaniswami
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday ruled out the formation of a coalition government if the alliance between his party and the Bharatiya Janata Party goes on to win the Tamil Nadu assembly polls due next year.
Palaniswami said that Union home minister Amit Shah had never said that there would be a coalition government in Tamil Nadu consisting of AIADMK and the BJP. Notably, the alliance between the two parties was announced recently by Shah in Chennai along with senior AIADMK leaders.
“He did not say that (a coalition government). The relevant issue had been misunderstood by the media, which makes “tricks,” Palaniswami alleged, and requested the media to drop its “tricks,” PTI quoted Palaniswami as saying.
He said that Amit Shah, on April 11, had declared the AIADMK-BJP alliance would win the polls and a government would be formed, the Tamil Nadu leader of the opposition stressed that it did not denote a coalition government.
So, it might mean that Palaniswami ruled out the scope for sharing power with the BJP if the alliance wins the polls. It goes according to the tradition in Tamil Nadu, as both DMK and AIADMK have formed alliances with other parties throughout history, but have never shared power with any of them in the state.
Palaniswami added that Shah had also made it categorically clear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would lead the alliance when it comes to the national level. But on the state level, it would be led by the AIADMK leader. “You must understand, the matter is clear,” he said.